


Arts More Subtle Than War

by machinewithoutfeelings



Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Emperor Hux, Fluff, Hux in Major Denial, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-11
Updated: 2016-03-11
Packaged: 2018-05-26 04:17:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,023
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6223561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/machinewithoutfeelings/pseuds/machinewithoutfeelings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sure, they weren't exactly friends, but it wasn't too strange to be inviting Ren for a drink, right? In his quarters? Late at night? It was strictly in celebration of their victory. Nothing else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Arts More Subtle Than War

 

 

 

 

General Hux- no, wait, Emperor Hux- had not had fun for probably twenty-five years.

 

He had been busy, after all. Years in the Academy, working his way swiftly up the ranks in the First Order, commanding on the _Finalizer_ , Starkiller, and then, of course, forming his plans to do just...this. For everything. Ruling. Everything.

 

It was still very weird when he was finally alone at night, lying in his same bed, knowing the he was the ruler of it all. He still had plenty to do, obviously, he wasn't going to let himself become some lax, fattened layabout of a ruler. There were entire star systems that needed to be made aware of his dominion. There was still a war going on; he might have been Emperor, but that didn't mean everyone recognized him as such. Still, after such an accomplishment, he certainly deserved _something_.

 

He tried watching a holo first. Maybe some mindless entertainment? It was mostly insipid trash, though- one channel was the news, and it had his face on it, which he would be loathe to admit that he spent a moment or two longer on. It was a good picture of him. After the story changed to something else, Hux switched channels again, and, oh. Why did he even get this channel? Hux put down the controller and look at the screen with muted interest.

 

Hux had never been one for pornography. Satisfaction of his urges had always more of another duty to be carried out than anything else- his sexual encounters had always been perfunctory and to the point. Watching what the two women were doing on screen, Hux was not all too surprised to find that he did not enjoy it. Maybe it was his upbringing, but it all just seemed quite vulgar.

 

He switched it off.

 

He considered reading, but he had nothing amusing, and he considered some sort of celebration cake, but he hated sweets.

 

Alcohol. Not something unheard of for him to indulge in, but Hux typically did not do more more than sip on a small glass in formal company. It was what one did. Tonight was a night that he should be celebrating, though, and alcohol was traditionally celebratory. He picked up the bottle of dark liquid from the shelf, and then one of the glasses that sat next to it. One glass.

 

It was pretty sad to celebrate by oneself like this, actually. Hux ran a finger over the rim of a second tumbler, then took that one, too.

 

He would have Ren up for a drink. That wasn't too strange, was it? It was, after all, largely thanks to him that Hux was even in this position. With all of his intelligence and strategy, Hux knew that he would have been absolutely hopeless against Snoke without Ren's raw power. It had been exhilirating, actually, watching the knight strike that shriveled old beast down, finally. He remembered the way Ren had looked, after. His helmet had been broken and discarded long before. He had limped toward Hux, sweaty hair stuck to his scarred face, holding his blood-soaked side, fallen right at his feet, and looked up at him like-

 

Hux was very grateful, that was all.

 

Ren hadn't been as injured as he seemed at first. The medical droids had been able to fix him up fairly quickly, and Hux himself had seen him back to his quarters on board the ship. He had been okay, a little limping, and a little pensive, but mostly whole. This had pleased Hux more than he wanted to dwell on, but of course, it made since to want his greatest weapon in a recoverable condition.

 

Ren could have very easily seized the power for himself, but instead he ceded it to Hux. It had never been a question, really, which was strange, looking back on it. He thought that Ren had wanted the power, not that he would know what to do with it. Hux wasn't sure exactly what Ren wanted. He supposed he had always just been conditioned to serve. Hux was just glad that he had chosen to serve him.

 

He would invite him for a drink.

 

Hux went to his commlink and dialed the number he knew to be Ren's. For a brief moment after he had pressed the last number, Hux was overtaken with a momentary panic, but _What are you doing, Bren?_ was quickly overridden by _Get a hold of yourself, you're just inviting a friend up for a drink,_ swiftly followed by _You consider Ren a friend?_ Truthfully, Hux had not had a friend since he was child, and the sheer amount of time he had spent in Ren's presence and the fact that he did not hate him quite as much as he once did made Kylo Ren the closest thing to a friend that he had.

 

The voice that answered the call was drowsy, and Hux realized that it actually was a very late hour. For some reason, he had assumed that Ren would not be asleep. He could not picture him sleeping.

 

“Hello?”

 

“This is Hux.”

 

The was a substantial pause on the other side of the line. “...Hux. What is it that you need?”

 

“I was going to have a little drink, in celebration of today's events, and I thought it only right if you joined me. Would you join me, Ren?”

 

There was another long pause on the other side, but then, “Yes, of course, Emperor.”

 

Hearing this gave Hux a great thrill. “Right, then. I will see you shortly.”

 

After ending the call, he looked around his quarters and identified the things he needed to straighten up before Ren arrived. The bed was unmade, so Hux pulled up the sheets and neatly tucked everything into the proper corners. His greatcoat still lay over a chair, so he picked it up and hung it in a closet. He set the glasses on a small table in the seating area, and the decanter of liquor beside them. Chairs pushed in. No, pulled out. No...pushed in.

 

There was a request for access at his door around fifteen minutes later. Hux took one last survey of his quarters and, finding it acceptable, went to let Ren in.

 

His face was bare and looked like it had been recently scrubbed clean. His dark hair had been pulled back into a bun, and he wore a loose fitting black tunic and pants, probably easier on his injuries. Ren looked utterly innocent and utterly unlike a ruthless killer who had struck down a near-god earlier in the day. _He looks quite cute, honestly,_ and where did that thought come from? _Stop it_.

 

“Emperor,” Ren said in greeting, and, oh, that was just as nice the second time.

 

“Lord Ren,” Hux said, even though he normally called him just plain _Ren._ Right now a little bit of formality felt appropriate, following being addressed as an emperor. He stood to the side and Ren brushed past him, looking so much more unimposing than he did in his normal apparel. Not that he wasn't in shape. Hux could more clearly see that in these plainer clothes than he did in Ren's normal heavy robes with the big cowl neck, or at least, he would if he were looking.

 

Ren sat down at the table. He tapped his fingers on the table, and Hux thought he looked slightly unnerved. Hux knew that they had never really spent any leisure time together, one on one, but they had known each other for years, hadn't they? Even if they had never been particularly chummy, and at some times had hated each other very much. Ren had beheaded someone in his honor earlier in the day- a drink should not be awkward.

 

Hux sat down and poured a drink for the both of them. Briefly, he entertained the idea of holding out his glass to clink Ren's, but that might be stupid. What would they toast to? _To me?_ ~~ _To us?_~~ _To the corpse of that disgusting old psychopath?_ No, Hux decided to keep quiet, and keep his glass close to his mouth where he could take small sips while avoiding Ren's gaze.

 

Ren wasn't speaking first, and why would he? He had always seemed to revel in making Hux uncomfortable. Normally it would not ruffle him so much, but it is one thing out on the bridge surrounded by all of his mean, but quite another sitting in silent quarters sitting across a table from one another in stilted silence.

 

“How are you feeling?” Hux finally asked, as it became clear that Ren was not going to do anything but stare awkwardly while not drinking. “I was told that the injuries you sustained earlier were not as substantial as originally feared.”

 

“I'm in good health,” Ren said. “Or, well, as much as can be expected. The medic did tell me to try and refrain from any strenuous activity, but I think I will manage.”

 

“Don't tell me that you are going to throw yourself right back into training,” Hux said. “You'll only weaken yourself by not letting yourself heal.” It would be just like Ren to exert himself too much.

 

“Right. Training.”

 

There was a tone to his monotone voice that could almost be pegged for amusement, if Ren was ever particularly amused. It struck Hux as odd. “If not training, then what else would you be managing through? Are you planning on waking up early tomorrow morning to take down the Resistance?”

 

Ren looked at him pointedly, and Hux wished that he would just _drink his damn drink_. That's what he was invited up for, wasn't it?

 

“Are we still playing a game, Hux?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Ren at least touched his glass, running a single finger around the circular rim once, twice, three times. “Are you asking me to assume that I really was invited here for a mere drink, in...celebration of today's events?” Hux's own words echoed back to him, and it didn't sting, not all all, but he didn't like the taunting edge to Ren's voice. He was being mocked, mocked for the kind gesture of extending an invitation to his quarters to Ren when Hux didn't even like him. Hux did not like being mocked.

 

“And what else would you _assume_?” He watched Ren's finger stroke down the side of the glass before finally picking it up.

 

“I assumed you were inviting me up here for sex.”

 

Hux sputtered on his drink. Alcohol dribbled from his mouth down onto his shirt, despite his attempts to block it with his hand. “ _What_ are you talking about? What have I ever done that would possibly put that idea in your head?” Sex. With Ren. Seriously? The idea was absurd, sex with Ren, when had Hux ever given Ren the thought that he wanted to have sex? With him. With Ren. Sex with Ren.

 

Looking the most relaxed he had looked since entering Hux's quarters, Ren laughed over his drink, finally taking a sip, before looking up and meeting Hux's eyes. “Wait- are you serious? My Emperor, all you do is stare at me with eyes like you're slowly undressing me in your mind. And you are. I've been in your mind. I only thought that you, wisely, hadn't acted on this because of Snoke. And then the first evening he is dead, you call me up at 0100 for a 'drink'?”

 

“You do have a drink,” Hux said dumbly, defense weak as he was still slightly numbed by the utterance 'My Emperor'. He did not appreciate the subtle sarcasm Ren had inflected on the last word he had spoken, _drink_ , not at all, and was beginning to wish that he had not invited him up at all.

 

“I do have a drink, you're right,” Ren said, and he took another drink. It was rude the way the wetness lingered on his lips, but not as rude as the tongue that swiped across them, slowly, to catch it. It angered Hux immensely, and caused him to down his drink faster.

 

“You shouldn't leer at me like that, Lord Ren,” Hux said, pouring his second drink before Ren was even near finished with his first. “I am your Emperor. It's...untoward.”

 

“I know you're my Emperor,” Ren said. “I thought you required me to serve you.”

 

“Not like _that._ ” The _alcohol_ was beginning to give Hux an unpleasant rosy heat right under his skin. Alcohol often did that to him. That was why he only had it in small doses normally- mostly when required for work. He didn't know exactly why had decided to purposely have alcohol in his room tonight, and it was already getting to be too much. Typical.

 

“I did pledge myself to you earlier.”

 

“To protect my life and protect my throne!” Hux said. “That was all!”

 

“I must have missed a vow,” Ren said. “If you want, I can get back on my knees and swear again.” His tone was absolutely lascivious, and Hux was sure he had never seen Ren's eyes like that before. Heavy and wanting but so, so sure.

 

Hux stood straight up.

 

“I think it is time for you to leave,” he said, crossing the room and blocking the door. Ren rose, approaching him in a way that made Hux feel that he was even bigger than his already imposing frame. Hux stood his ground, staring his knight down. He was an _emperor_ now, was he not? He would have what he wanted, and he definitely wanted Ren. To leave.

 

“I'll take my leave, if that is what you really want,” Ren said, looming over as Hux avoided his path, strided toward the bed and sat down.

 

“Of course that's what I want,” Hux said, voice shaky as Ren sank to his knees before him, earnest face no longer bloody, but spotless, save for the natural spots that dotted Ren's face, often rather hard to appreciate behind a heavy mask.

 

“I've gifted you a crown,” Ren said, moving his obscenely large hands up Hux's spread thighs. “Don't you know why?”

 

“I am the most capable leader here,” Hux said, just barely able to keep from stumbling over every word. “I would say it was my destiny, if I believed in destinies anymore. I'm the person fit to be Emperor. I will bring order and structure to the galaxy.”

 

“Hmm,” Ren said, and he placed his head down next to his hands, and Hux could feel the heat of his every breath against his knee. “All true. But I also just did it for you. To please you. Because you wanted it, and I wanted to give you something you wanted.” He tilted his head back so his eyes were looking up, meeting Hux's own disbelieving, fixed gaze. “Why won't you let me give you what you want, my Emperor?”

 

“I don't-”

 

“You really do.”

 

“I can't-”

 

“You really can.”

 

“Damn you, Ren,” Hux said, as he took large fistfuls of the loose fitting black tunic and yanked Ren up. Ren fell into him, a heavy, long-limbed heap that knocked Hux on his back, with a hot mouth and soft lips that tasted slightly coppery where one was slightly split in combat. Hux licked over the cut and Ren _growled._ Hux liked that, so he did it again.

 

The kisses were hungry, and forceful, but peppered with moments where they both stopped to breathe and they avoided each other's eyes and Ren's hand skimmed down trace the sides of Hux's body through his still buttoned-up shirt. And then they were at it again, Ren grabbing at Hux's hair and Hux pulling Ren's down, finally running his hands through it, because Hux had always wanted to do this, _how had he not realized he wanted to do this since the first time he saw it spill out from that awful helmet?_

 

When Hux realized that with the combination of a mouth over his and Ren's heavy body pressing on his chest he was not actually getting very much oxygen, he gave a light push on Ren's shoulder. Ren aquiesced quicker than he ever had to anything Hux wanted, rolling over but pulling Hux along with him.

 

Hux found himself straddled over Ren, one hand resting on a stomach that felt like it was made of durasteel. He fingered the edges of Ren's tunic, desperately wanting to peel it off. Why _were_ they both still wearing clothes? Hux noted to remedy that in just one moment. Now, however, he straightened his back, holding himself as if a crown was balanced on top of his head as he looked down at a flushed and blissful Ren.

 

“I believe,” he said, feeling his own hardness grind alongside Ren's as he moved his hips in an unpracticed way. There wasn't time to worry about his limited experience, not when Ren was looking so breathless and lovely and eager to please. “That you said something about serving me?”

 

Ren smirked, a deadly smirk that seemed appropriate solely for the battlefield or the bedroom. “Yes, my Emperor.” His voice, what was _that voice?_ It was rewriting everything in Hux's brain- had every murderous threat and act of wanton destruction actually been a come-on? He had thought himself a brilliant and tactical mind, but apparently- oh, Ren nipped at his ear as he slid out from him. Oh, oh. Apparently Hux was rather less versed in arts more subtle than war.

 

He was more than willing to learn, though, Hux decided, as Kylo Ren went to unbutton his trousers. He was an excellent student. He could learn now, than maybe once or twice more in the morning. Maybe again in the afternoon, if they could work something out between meetings. He would have to try and have that worked into his schedule.

 

 _No,_ Hux corrected when he saw Kylo Ren take off his shirt, revealing an unreal plane of cut muscles and touchable skin. _I_ _ **will**_ _have that worked into my schedule._ Being the Emperor had to have some perks, didn't it?

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> follow me at [machinewithoutfeelings](http://machinewithoutfeelings.tumblr.com/)


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